Friday, December 4, 2009

Use atta flour (whole wheat, made from hard wheat). Add water to flour until it's tender and smooth, not too much water. Roll out into thin circles like chapati. Make a cut from the center to an edge, then fold over into a 60 degree triangle (so it'll be 6 layers). It'll be kind of a cone shape, so kinda squash that open, flatten, and roll out. Cook on a hot dry pan. Put oil on one side, then flip so it cooks on both sides.

Put everything but the butter and cream in a pressure cooker and cook it for 1/2 hour. Open the lid by running it under cold water until the steam is done, then add the cream, cook 10 minutes. Add butter as a garnish (however that works).If you don't have a pressure cooker, just cook it all in a pot. Soak the lentils for a couple hours beforehand.

Note about oil: sunflower oil and mustard oil are popular in India. Mustard oil is good for winters, it makes things last longer.

Toast the coriander, cumin, black pepper, black cumin, cardamom, and, uh, cloves? At least all the things that look like seeds. Then grind it all!You may want to make a half recipe, as this makes 2/3 cup, and it's the most flavorful right after grinding.

Peel the hard outer layer of the broccoli, and the carrot. Cut both into 2-inch pieces. Saute carrot and broccoli in oil quickly until tender. Stir in everything else. Remove from heat, steam about 1 minute, but don't overcook. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, serve immediately.

Steam the peppers over boiling water for about 3 minutes, plunge into ice water, and drain. Pat dry with a towel. Slice peppers into thin spears, place in a bowl. Add the carrot.Mix miso with sugar, add everything else. Mix well, pour over vegetables, and serve.

Source: The Art of Japanese Vegetarian Cooking, by Max Jacobson, p. 48

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil for 1 minute. Add shrimp and beef, fry for 3 minutes or until beef browns.Add everything but the eggs, fry for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, fry for 3 minutes more or until dry but not overcooked.

Source: The Indonesian Kitchen by Copeland Marks with Mintari Soeharjo

String and refrigerate the peas in water, drain.Boil the livers in water for 2 minutes. Drain and cut into lobes.Fry onions and garlic for 1 minute, add the sweet pepper and fry for another minute. Add everything else but the peas. Cook 5 minutes, basting to distribute flavors. Add peas, cook for 2 minutes more.

Soften the miso in a bowl with 2 tbsp tepid stock, whisk. Ladle the miso into the stock, simmering over medium heat. Add the solid ingredients. Do not boil. You can really use all sorts of ingredients instead of these, this is just a starter.

Toast sesame seeds, grind in a mortar and pestle. Add sugar, stir, add soy sauce and dashi, and mix (almost whip) to blend well. Add more sugar if necessary.Chop spinach into 1 1/2-inch lengths. Lightly use the pestle to mix the spinach and dressing- a little bruised but not crushed.

Cut burdock in shavings as if sharpening a pencil, or julienne the carrots. Stir-fry in oil over high heat about 3 minutes, until vegetable softens a little. Add liquid and continue stir-frying until almost completely reduced. Flavor to taste with red pepper.Can also use konnyaku instead, or lotus root.

Mix dashi, sugar, mirin, soy sauce in a medium pot, boil, simmer, add salt.Cut the tofu into quarters, slide them into the pot (try not to break them). Ladle the liquid over the tofu until heated thoroughly, about 4 minutes. Remove tofu, keep on the heat, add the cornstarch/water. Stir until thickened, about 1 minute.Ladle sauce over tofu, garnish, eat with spoons instead of chopsticks.

Cut cucumbers into paper-thin slices. Spread out on a cutting board, sprinkle with salt, knead about 1 minute. Transfer to bowl without washing.Sanbaizu sauce: Combine sauce ingredients just to a simmer, force-cool (bowl in a bowl of ice water).Serve: pour half the sauce over the cucumber, squeeze with your hands, pour off sauce. Then add the other half of the sauce to the cucumber. Serve at room temperature.Note: you can add wakame too; soaked, scalded in hot water, plunged into cold water. Toss with cucumber just before adding sauce.

Slice squash into 1/4 inch rounds, tomatoes into wedges, arrange in concentric circles with a small tomato half at the center.Skin 2 lemons, cut into wedges, remove seeds, scatter over squash. Add everything else. Bake for 25 minutes at 350. Taste to make sure it's still a little firm/crunchy. Serve cool, but not chilled, with fresh bread.

Cook onions and garlic in oil until soft, add the rest of the sauce ingredients, simmer 30 min until quite dry. Set aside.Bring water and 1 tsp salt to a boil, pour in cornmeal in a slow stream, stirring. Continue stirring for 15 minutes. When dry, cool slightly, stir in eggs, spread into a pie pan. Pat and smooth with wet fingers until it forms a thin pie shell. Place tomato topping in it, sprinkle with parmesan and olive oil, bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Wash rice with cold water until water is clear (can soak for 30 minutes before cooking). Add a little over 1 cup of water to 1 cup of rice (or 1 knuckle over the rice). Keep the lid on the rice, or cover with foil with a little hole in it. Cook on high heat until it boils, then turn down to low, simmer 10 minutes. Turn the heat off, let it sit for 10 minutes, do not remove the lid ever.

Transfer to a big mixing bowl or deep plate, spread out evenly, add vinegar mixture, fold in with spatula, cool it with a fan or an open window, let it cool.10 minutes later, turn it over so it all cools at the same rate. After 15-20 minutes, it'll be ready to use.

Sashimi knife- yanagi- for fish only, made of carbon steel, rusts so dry it quickly, 1-sided so you cut something and it falls awayMake sure everything's dry- wet seaweed is bad newsPeeling a cucumber- use a thing that peels it into sushi-sized chunks, or just peel the whole cucumber into a big sheet like a champAvocado: halve, pit, scoop out with spoon, sliceKaiware: daikon sproutsWhen buying nori, don't buy top shelf (too fragile, too fancy) or bottom shelf (cheap and thick). Make sure it's roasted. JFC is a good brand.

To make a temaki (hand roll): put rice on left half (of a wide rectangle), put stuff diagonal from top left to bottom center, bring lower left corner to top center, roll upUramaki (like a california roll): put rice on nori, add sesame, turn over, add tobiko (fish eggs) in a divot, avocado, cucumber, crab, shape it with saran-wrapped sushi matFutomaki (fat roll)Hosomaki (thin roll)Obi: little ribbon around nigiriGunkan: "battleship" full of fish eggs or whateverCut rolls with a knife that has a little water on the bladeCut fish across the grain so you don't get a big grain in your fishCut unagi (eel) at 45 degree angles

Buying fish:Tuna, salmon, albacore are easy to getYellowtail oxidizes so you can't buy it reallySalmon eggs, tobiko, sea urchin all goodCooked shrimp/eel, no problemWhitefish: hard to filletScallops: generally safeTypes of tuna: Bluefin (otoro) is most expensive (and overfished), Bigeye (chutoro, orotoro?) is next, then Yellowfin (maguro?) I think the grades don't exactly match up with the types"Fresh" tuna not actually good- rigor mortis sets in. Flash frozen is the best.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

3 bone-in chicken breastsa bunch of stock- 2qts? If you don't have any, make some, just boil the odds and ends from the celery, carrots, and onion in water for a while, then remove.1 big onion, peeled, uncut4 sprigs celery6 carrots, or to taste, slicedparsley, to tasteginger (optional), about 1tbsp fresh gratednoodles (Polish Kluski or whatever you like)

Get a large pot. I don't know how big yours is, but mine is 8 qts. Fill up to less than 2 inches from the top, with stock/water. Boil chicken, skim off the junk that floats to the top until most of it has stopped rising.Keep simmering and add the onion and celery (to be removed later).Simmer for 3 hours with lid on, but slightly ajar.During the final 1/2 hour add carrots, parsley, ginger, salt and pepper to taste. Add noodles whenever so that they'll be done when they're done.After 3 hours turn off heat, remove celery, onion and discard. Remove chicken and hopefully all the bones. When cool enough remove the chicken from the bones and put back into the broth.

In a large bowl toss the bread with the garlic, shallot, thyme, salt and olive oil. Turn the bread out onto a baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes - or until they are nice and golden and crunchy.

In a cold skillet pour in a splash of olive oil, a splash of water, and a couple pinches of salt. Dial up the heat and when the water starts to bubble stir in the asparagus. Cover, wait about twenty seconds, now add the peas. Cover, wait a few seconds, now add the spinach. Cover and cook just a few more seconds until the spinach starts to collapse just a bit.

Put the bread crumbs in a large bowl. Now pour the asparagus and peas and all the pan juices over the top of the bread.

Give it a good toss, add the basil leaves and toss again. Serve the salad family-style on a big platter.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Leeks are notoriously gritty. To clean them well I typically slice them lengthwise and then submerge them in a big bowl of water - where I rinse and swish them to loosen up any dirt. Drain and repeat if needed. Then chop/slice.

Combine the cabbage, leeks, flour, and salt in a bowl. Toss until everything is coated with a dusting of flour. Stir in the eggs and mix until everything is evenly coated.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add a generous splash of olive oil. Scoop the cabbage mixture into the pan, and using a metal spatula press it into a round pancake shape, flat as you can get it. Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the bottom is golden. To flip the okonomiyaki, slide it out of the skillet onto a plate. Place another plate on top and flip both (together) over. If you need a bit more oil in your skillet, add it now, before sliding the okonomiyaki back into the skillet. Again press down a bit with a spatula and cook until golden on this side - another 3 -5 minutes.

When you are finished cooking, sprinkle with toasted almonds and chives, and slide it onto a cutting board to cut into wedges. Enjoy immediately.

Just before you make the batter, in a small saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the red pepper flakes, and pour into a 9-inch pie tin (I have an enameled cast-iron one that is perfect) or equivalent baking dish. Place in the hot oven.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and corn. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until just combined. Now very carefully remove the hot pan with butter from the oven. Fill it with the cornbread batter, pushing the batter out to the sides if needed. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center is just set. Remove and drizzle with a bit of melted butter (optional).

Rinse rice in strainer under cold water; drain. Bring 6 cups water and 2 tsps coarse salt to boil in large saucepan. Add rice; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until rice grains begin to split and are tender but still slightly chewy, and slightly split, about 45 minutes (although it varies). Drain. Spread on rimmed baking sheet to cool. Transfer to bowl. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil rimmed baking sheet. Toss squash cubes and 3 tbsp oil in medium bowl. Spread squash in single layer on prepared sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast just until tender but firm enough to hold shape, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. (Jill's note: cook longer, make sure it's not hard) Transfer squash to bowl. Cool. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Melt 4 tbsp butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and 3/4 cup water; simmer until leeks are tender, about 7 minutes. Add corn; simmer 2 minutes longer. Add rice and butternut squash; simmer until heated through and liquid is absorbed, about 4 minutes. Stir in 2 tbsp butter and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Dan's Recipes

Despite the plethora of recipe software out there, the one that does what I want (tagging, text searching, and indefinite web hosting) is actually Blogger. So here I am. This is not a food blog so much as my recipe archive, which you're free to peruse if you like.